Sean Payton essentially barred from any contact with New Orleans Saints, players

The rules for Coach Sean Payton's suspension seem to just get stiffer. Originally, the NFL described his punishment as one that barred him from "football and operational" communication with New Orleans Saints players and employees. Now, however, the letter of the law has been put in play and Payton is essentially a persona non grata for the New Orleans Saints.

Ellis Lucia/The Times-PicayuneNew Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton can have no contact with anyone associated with the New Orleans Saints.

He cannot call or write. He cannot email or text. He can't even talk to General Manager Mickey Loomis if they run into each other on the Florida Panhandle, where New Orleanians often run into each other during the summer months and Payton and Loomis own summer retreats.

Should any of these normal human interactions occur, Payton is required to inform Big Brother - in this case, Ray Anderson, an NFL executive.

At the owners' meeting last month, Payton had expressed some uncertainty about the terms of his suspension and he has largely maintained a silence about his harsh punishment save for a lobby interview at that meeting.

Through his agent Wednesday, Payton declined comment on his suspension, which began Monday.

It marks the first time any head coach has been suspended by the NFL for an entire season, an unprecedented punishment stemming from a bounty system the league accused the Saints of running on defense from 2009 through 2011. At its worst, New Orleans players funded under-the-table bonuses for plays that injured opponents, a charge the league says is supported by "multiple independent sources," but that a handful of Saints defenders have denied.

Unlike former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who acknowledged overseeing a pay-for-performance program and has been suspended from professional football indefinitely, Payton was neither an architect nor financial backer of the bounties. But he was made aware of them, according to the league, and took no action to eliminate them.

The same cavalier attitude toward payments that, at a minimum, violate the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, colored Loomis' approach to the issue, the NFL said. Consequently, Loomis will begin serving an eight-game suspension when the regular season starts. Interim head coach Joe Vitt, part of Payton's initial coaching staff in New Orleans who has now replaced his boss for off-season workouts and the preseason, will himself serve a six-game suspension for his involvement with the bounties.

Commissioner Roger Goodell took the strong action at a time the league is besieged with multiple lawsuits alleging it did not zealously defend players' safety. Many retired players cope with near-crippling medical issues, and evidence has mounted that repeated concussions carry severe long-term health drawbacks.

Presumably, Payton's violation of the complete blackout with the Saints would be a matter Goodell would take up when he considers the coach's reinstatement, which following the rejection of Payton's appeal, should occur after Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans in February.

Williams, hired as the Rams' defensive coordinator after the Saints were eliminated from the playoffs in San Francisco last January, was reportedly in New York on Wednesday, discussing the conditions he must meet for reinstatement.

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James Varney can be reached at jvarney@timespicayune.com or 504.717.1156.